Hi all,
I'm new here but have lurked for a while! We've just come back from our first camping jaunt which unfortunately only lasted 1 night. We left the campsite last night after teorrential rain started. We had to pack the tent away wet and dirty and now we're home, it's wet here too. I had been hoping to get the tent on the washing line and give it a hose down but that's not looking likely. Can anyone advise me of the best way to care for it? Thanks in advance!
If at all possible, its best to have the tent up and wet than in a bag. we came back on the 8th of July and I only packed my tent up last night after the first full day with no rain showers. If you have the space, I'd pitch it, if not just hang it on the line anyway but make sure all vents are the right way up so rain doesnt pour into them and get inside the tent.
Hope that helps
------------- July - Honeybridge Park, West Sussex
August - 1 night somewhere close to home.
September - Swanage
October - Continent, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France
Hi Kate, that's great, thanks! Unfortunately, the garden's a little bit too small for the tent but I could probably manage to get it on to the washing line. I'll fight it on later on this morning!
Its the same with ours, ours does fit but its not fully pitched, kind of loosely guyed but enough to dry it,
I stupidly laid mine out flat thinking it would be fine and ended up with a load of water in through a side window vent! Hence my advice on the vents, it happened to me. I ended up pitching it and taking out the inner tent to hang over the bannister, then I had to mop it out, not fun lol.
But even if you get it on the line and it has to stay there a few days, its better than mildew forming in the bag. You should be lucky though, better weather is on its way next week
------------- July - Honeybridge Park, West Sussex
August - 1 night somewhere close to home.
September - Swanage
October - Continent, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France
I hope it does stay dry for you, I think pretty much all the UK is to be pretty bad today and tomorrow but it is due to start drying up very soon.
Silly question but do you have a loft you could hang it in, or over the bannister? I've also heard of people putting the chairs on top of the dining table and putting the tent over the top of that?
I just wish we had a garage, that would be ideal!
Just a few ideas.
------------- July - Honeybridge Park, West Sussex
August - 1 night somewhere close to home.
September - Swanage
October - Continent, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France
A garage would be ideal! It's fairly blustery here at the mo, and dry just now so have the awning on the washing line, will hopefully get the tent out this afternoon if it stays dry. The trampoline has actually come in handy for tying bits and bobs to to stop it all blowing away!
Thanks poppy.dog, we've taken the bedrooms out and they're safely packed away, just the tent to go!
What tent is it / what is it made out of? Whatever it is, I wouldn't want to leave it in its bag for more than a day or so.
First thing I noticed is that you said it was dirty. Where was it dirty - If it was the bottom (and the groundsheet is sewn or even zipped in), consider using a footprint (I use a tarp which cost about £10-15 from B&Q). Since I started using this, the bottom of the groundsheet hasn't got dirty - at worst it has got slightly wet, with some sneaky blades of grass... All you need to do is let the bottom dry - job done! I also usually use the tarp to fold the tent up on - this keeps the canvas clean, too (better than folding it on a muddy field - I have even pegged out a clean tarp next to our canvas tent just to fold it up on when I'm packing it away)
Re. Drying a tent: we haven't really got the space outside to pitch, as the garden is on a slope and is terraced. I have half put it up in the past, when it was really quite wet. I kept the doors and vents open - it dried quite quickly in the sun.
If it is just damp, I have laid it out inside. In our current house, I have spread a mildly damp tent out in the loft, turning it once or twice a day until it was dry.
We came home with a slightly damp tent on Saturday and laid it out in the conservatory for the day, turning it over once or twice before packing it away (it gets really hot in there, so things dry really fast).
Our old house was a different story... a small terraced house with almost no outside space and relatively little indoor space. I had to re-arrange some furniture and lay it out in the bedroom, across the bed, with a fan blowing and the window open. It took a few days and a bit of turning / flipping, and was a bit of a faff, but it dried.
Better a bit of inconveience than a ruined tent... You get used to it, and it really does become routine.
We use the dinning room table with the fan heater..keep moving it of course ( dont want any fires) as we also have a small garden ...it can be a nightmare but it is worth it ...dont let this horrible spell of weather put you off...we have only had 1 nice weekend in 2 years but i still love it...hate coming home
HELEN
------------- HELEN & GARRY
JAN - LANZAROTE
JUNE - BENIDORM
AUG - PACKING FOR JOLLIES
SEPT - MEXICO
It's a Gelert Saturn, and mainly dirty on the bottom. I like the idea of the tarp underneath - I'd never thought of that so will def be investing in one for next time, thanks. We've got a pretty full house with not much space so I'll get it out and see what happens. The awning dried out really well so hopefully the tent will too. I did nearly get blown away when the wind got caught in the awning, panic stations eek! Thanks guys :)
Either get a purpose made one for your tent (they're called footprints), or to save a few bob, make your own. Either way, make sure none of the edges are sticking out visible beyond the tent. It should be about 2" too small all the way round. That way, If you pitch in the dry, the bottom of your tent will be packed away clean and dry.
On our maiden voyage last weekend, we pitched in the rain, and it was impossible to dry the footprint before sitting the tent on top, but firstly, no wet got in, and secondly, when we dropped the tent, it was still perfectly clean underneath, just still wet. As we folded up the tent, (in nice weather, thankfully!!) we simply "mopped" it (the underside of the tent groundsheet, that is) dry with a sweeping brush with a towel wrapped around it.
The footprint (clean but wet on top, dirty and wet underneath)then gets roughly folded up, bunged in a bin liner, then thrown over the washing line back home, brushed/hosed/jetwashed or whatever, and allowed to dry.
I've only been camping once..... but I know for a fact I will never go without a footprint!!
I'd suggest you don't hose the mud off the fabric of the tent because the water dissolves the mud and you end up staining the fabric. It's better and esasier to let the tent dry and brush the mud off gently with a soft brush.
Not very "green" I know but I put a decorators' polythene dust sheet under the inner tents and simply throw it away at the end of the trip.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Cleaning and drying wet tent?
